Weather you Will
by A. X. Zanier
Summary: It's just a 'little' boat ride. Minor Updates
1. Clear Skies

Author: A. X. Zanier

Rating: R (Language, violence, adult situations, mild sexual situation)

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or basic story ideas of 'The Invisible Man.' Any additional characters and ideas are mine to do with as I please. 

The Grosvenor is an actual hotel in the Orlando area. I have no knowledge about its interior and, aside from borrowing the name, have little knowledge of the building. 

The Disney Marketplace and the Rainforest Cafe are owned by people other than myself, please don't sue me for mentioning them in a simple fanfic. It is free advertising after all. 

OIA= Orlando International Airport

Weather You Will

_"Weather is a great bluffer. I guess the same is true of our human society -- things can look dark, then a break shows in the clouds and all is changed."_

_This coming from a guy who wrote about animals that could talk and write and play the trumpet. The last few weeks had been sheer hell on all of us, what with fire, destruction, and death. The death may have seemed to only directly affect one of us, but in reality it affected us all._

_What is it they say? If you don't like the weather, wait a minute? I'd been waiting longer than that. Guess I shouldn't have been surprised when things changed._

Walking out of the terminal at OIA into the summer heat was like hitting a wall of air. Thick, hot humid air. Worse than a sauna. At least you could escape a sauna.

"Jeeze, kid, you weren't kidding were you?" Hobbes complained, peeling out of his sport coat.

"Bobby, it's only seven-thirty in the morning. Wait until it really gets hot," Alyx said with a smile.

"This would explain your outfit," Darien commented. Not that he was complaining about what she was wearing, which was currently very little. A pair of jean shorts that barely came to the tops of her thighs and a loose fitting t-shirt that came just to the top of the shorts.

"I lived here for 10 years. If the air ain't thick enough to cut, then you're dodging lightning," she informed them, looking for their ride.

"Thunderstorms, huh?" Bobby asked.

"Try just about every afternoon and evening. Why do you think I booked a red-eye flight? The turbulence in the storms is awful. Welcome to the lightning capital of the Western Hemisphere, gentleman," Alyx said, shifting the bags on her shoulder.

"Is that it?" Darien asked, pointing to an obvious government-issue car. A man in a dark suit stood next to it, holding a sign that read, 'Hobbes, Silverfox.'

They walked towards him. "Can you say 'mixup'?" Bobby muttered, shaking his head. "I'm Agent Hobbes. This is Agent Fawkes..."

Before he got a chance to finish, the suit interrupted. "Do you really think it's appropriate to bring your child?"

Both Darien and Bobby mumbled, "Uh-oh" under their breath.

"Child?" Alyx stepped right into the suit's face. "Explains why you're playing chauffeur." She looked the guy up and down, a grimace of disgust on her face. "I'm Agent Silver, and I seem to recall being specifically requested for this."

The suit swallowed hard and tried to back away, but found he was unable to go very far with the car behind him. He looked over her head at her partners, practically pleading for help with his eyes. Neither of the men seemed inclined to come to his rescue. Alyx reached out and opened the rear door of the car. With a final glare, she climbed in, leaving the suit standing there, looking at her two partners. He relaxed slightly and adjusted his jacket and tie. "Is she always like that?"

"Nah. You should see her in a bad mood," Darien stated climbing in back with Alyx.

"Last one who called her a kid can't have any of his own now," Bobby added, tossing the bags into the trunk of the car and going along with the gag.

The suit turned dead pale and swallowed hard. "Please tell me you're joking."

Hobbes slammed the trunk shut. "Does it look like I'm joking?" He walked past the guy and climbed into the passenger seat of the car, trying not to laugh. As the suit slowly walked around the car to the driver's side, Bobby turned around to look at Alyx. "You just had to, didn't you?"

"You two helped," Alyx pointed out with no remorse. "It ain't my fault I look like an adolescent, _Dad_."

"Cute, kid. Can we just get to our hotel without scaring the guy to death?" Bobby turned back to the front as the suit got behind the wheel.

The atmosphere was a bit strained for the first few minutes of the ride. It was Darien who broke the silence first. "So where are we staying?" he asked, praying for something better than the Motel 6.

"The Grosvenor," the suit replied.

Alyx reacted to that. "You're kidding?"

"You know it?" the suit asked.

"Know it by rep only. Nice hotel out by the mouse house." She thought for a moment. "Who's footing the bill for this?"

"CIA, Agent Silver." He drove smoothly through the early morning traffic.

"CIA? Thought this was a drug smuggling case?" Darien sounded a little confused.

"It is. Agent Morris will fill you in this evening."

Alyx and Darien exchanged a look. They had each had run-ins with the CIA before. Nothing good was going to come of this.

***

Alyx flopped back on the queen-sized bed she had taken over in the suite. The other bedroom had two double beds that the guys could fight over. She was so tired it wasn't funny. She hadn't even been getting her usual four hours of sleep a night; two had been the average for the last couple of weeks. Heck, who was she kidding? She hadn't slept well since Max died, for a variety of reasons. She lay there staring at the ceiling until someone knocked at the door. Darien poked his head in at her grunt.

"We got the day to kill. Want to go out? Get some lunch maybe?" he offered with a cheerful grin.

"I am going to try to get some sleep," she grumbled, sitting up on her elbows.

He came further into the room. "Still having trouble sleeping?"

"Always, as you well know." She flopped back down and rubbed her eyes with one hand. The Keep had been having an interesting time studying the effects of quicksilver on the two of them. Both Alyx and Darien were affected by the Quicksilver in their system, and one of the things they had in common was disrupted sleep cycles, though for vastly different reasons. "Go on. I'm sure there are any number of pretty young things down by the pool in need of your attention."

"Looks like there's one right here." Darien came over to sit on the edge of the bed. "I could order room service."

Alyx screwed up her face at the mere thought of food. She had gotten to the point where she was so tired she couldn't even eat.

"That bad, huh?" She had been a bit more relaxed around him in the last few weeks, a little more open to persuasion. He was tempted to try a bit of that persuasion now, what with the entire day to kill until their contact showed up, but he could tell she really was tired. He leaned over and kissed her lightly. "Get some sleep."

"Yes, sir," she mumbled at him. "Thanks, Dare."

He stood up and walked back to the door. "No problem."

Bobby watched as Darien shut the door behind him and ran a hand through his hair. He wasn't a fool. He knew something was going on between his two partners and he was pretty sure he knew what it was. He just wasn't sure that they knew it yet. "She not joining us?"

Darien shook his head. "Gonna try and sleep."

"Good. The kid's been running on empty for a month now," Bobby observed. "Hotel recommended some places over in the Marketplace. Walking distance, they said."

"Sure, whatever." Darien sounded distracted.

"It takes time. Give her a chance," Bobby said, walking towards the door of the suite.

"What are you talking about, Hobbes?" Darien focused on his partner finally.

"The funeral, what else? The kid fell hard. She just needs some time is all," Bobby stated, watching Darien for his reaction.

Darien went from distracted to irritated in record time. "I know. Believe me, I know." It was not his favorite subject to think about, much less talk about. Part of him hated the fact that she had managed to find some sort of happiness, however short-lived, with Maxwell Garrett. At the same time, part of him wanted to thank the man. Since the funeral, Alyx had really started to come out from behind that mask she hid behind and he really liked the person he saw underneath. Too bad she still wouldn't let him anywhere near her.

***

They ate an early lunch inside an erupting volcano - a place called The Rainforest Cafe. The food was remarkably good considering it was tourist trap hell. Every 30 minutes or so the volcano would erupt, with rumbles, crashes, and the momentary darkening of the room. After that they spent about an hour or so wandering around the stores, managing not to buy too much tourist stuff.

Hobbes was watching the masses ooh and ah at the patently phony displays put on for the gullible. They were watching a magician who ran a good patter, but did very simple tricks. "Considering who runs this place, you think they could find someone with talent," he grouched.

"He's not that bad, Hobbes. The kids think it's great," Darien argued, waving a hand at the enraptured children before them.

Hobbes snorted. "You've got better special effects than that guy. And _his_ boss can afford to pay for better."

That pretty much ended the day.

Back at the hotel, Hobbes decided to check out those 'pretty young things' that Alyx had commented on earlier, while Darien headed up to drop their stuff off in the room. After tossing the bags on the sofa, he started to head out again, back down to the pool to watch Hobbes charm the girls. He paused, his hand on the door of the suite, thinking he might check on Alyx. If she was awake she might want to join them. Or so he tried to convince himself.

He knocked on her door gently and opened it, sticking his head in to look at her. She was curled up on her side facing away from him in the middle of the bed. She had kicked off her shoes and socks and they lay in pile nearby. She had somehow managed to drag down one of the pillows and crush it into a small lump that now lay on the floor. He debated between joining her and the far more intelligent leaving. The decision was taken out of his hands when the first crack of thunder rumbled through the air, which he found amazing, since he could still see sunlight out the window.

Alyx opened her eyes, startled by the thunder, but not surprised that she failed to sleep through the sound. She stared at the far wall where the doors to the balcony were, waiting for the next flash of lightning that she knew was just moments away. She was also waiting for Darien to decide what he was going to do. She rolled over to look at him through half closed eyes. She watched him for a few minutes, wondering what he was doing here this time.

"What do you want, Darien?" Alyx asked, her voice almost a purr.

"Nothing. I was just checking on you," Darien answered, walking towards the glass doors.

She rolled on the bed, following his movements across the room. "Now why do I have a hard time believing that?"

Darien opened the French doors to the balcony and stepped outside. "I know I heard thunder, but it's still clear out here."

Alyx followed him outside, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. "Storm's coming from the southwest; we're facing north. Give it a few, the clouds'll be overhead soon."

"And you know this how?" Darien wondered, turning to face her.

"I can feel it. Lots of nice energy buildup. It'll be a short, fast one. Bigger storms will go through later." She still had her eyes closed. "I could always tell when storms were coming before, but now...it's incredible. I can feel the power building up in the clouds."

"Alyx," Darien said, sounding odd to her.

She opened her eyes and looked at him. The thoughts running through her mind were ones she had done her best to avoid thinking for months now. She sidled up to him and placed a hand on his arm, sliding it up to run lightly over his biceps. She leaned in and kissed his arm tasting the warm flesh...

Thunder cracked overhead and Alyx snapped awake, sat up, and started swearing. "God damn it, can't I get any peace?"

Darien flinched at her sudden shout. She had gone from what appeared to be sound asleep to wide awake in an instant, and whether or not she realized it, every loose item in the room jumped at her shout. He was momentarily tempted to quicksilver, but he had a feeling that she already knew he was here.

Without turning to look at him, she growled, "Get out, Darien, please."

"Sure. Sorry, didn't mean to disturb you." He shut the door behind him as he left.

Alyx sighed and flopped back down. "I know, Darien. But you do anyway."

***

When Alyx finally left the bedroom an hour or so later, after showering and dressing for the meeting, she sought Darien out. He was thumbing through a magazine and ignoring the television, which Bobby was watching. She stood in front of him, waiting for him to acknowledge her presence.

He had noticed her, all right, and he looked over her choice of clothes with a smirk. She was dressed in a suit, for all practical purposes. Of course, it failed to have the standard cut to it. Black high-heeled shoes, close-fitting black pants, and a snug iridescent gray shirt, over which was a black jacket cut to accentuate every curve. She'd even done her hair in one of those fancy braids she sometimes did. He'd rather she left it down.

When she knew she had his attention, she said, "Sorry about earlier. That is not my normal mode for regaining consciousness."

Darien set down the magazine on the nearby table and climbed to his feet. Alyx backed away a step concerned he was angry with her and trying not to read him to find out.

"I should have just left well enough alone," he said, walking past her towards the room he was sharing with Bobby. "I'll know better next time." He shut the door behind him.

"Ignore him," Bobby announced, turning to her. "He's been grousing about all day. Probably just the heat."

"Yeah, I guess," Alyx agreed. "I'm going down to get something to eat. I'll meet Agent Morris when he arrives. Maybe Fawkes will cool off if I'm not around."

"Sure. Give us a ring when the guy shows." Bobby turned back to the TV.

"Of course." Alyx opened the door and left the suite.

She ended up in the bar off the Lobby with a margarita and a sandwich as she watched for the arrival of Agent Morris. He arrived about an hour later with two other suits. As they checked in at the desk, she approached. She waited until they were finished before getting their attention.

"Agent Morris?" she asked, her hands clasped behind her back. She was a little surprised to discover he was a redhead as well. Hair as bright as a newly minted copper penny, with a dusting of freckles across his cheeks. Cute. And at least a decade younger than she was.

He looked her over, seemingly surprised by her appearance. "Yes?"

"Agent Alyx Silver. Thought I'd meet you down here instead of making you find us," she told him.

"Really? Why?" He turned to the gentlemen with him. "Go ahead, I'll catch up."

When he turned back to her after watching his companions walk off she answered. "One of my partners is pissed off at me. Thought I'd give him time to cool down. Care for a drink?" She nodded towards the bar.

He thought for a moment. "Only if it won't get me arrested."

Alyx smiled. "I'm more than old enough, I assure you." Leading the way, she returned to the table she had staked out in the bar area and signaled for the waiter. When he came over Alyx said, "Another and put more tequila in it this time. Agent Morris?" She turned to him.

"Draft, whatever's on tap." Alyx made a face at him. "Okay, what would you suggest?" He was curious to see what she would do.

"Got any micro brews?" she asked the waiter.

"Yes, ma'am," he answered.

She looked at the gentleman sitting across from her. "Something dark, I think."

"Yes, ma'am," he said as he turned away.

Alyx watched Morris as he watched her. She was waiting for the usual comment and could tell he was trying not to say it. "You might as well. Everyone says it."

"You're not what I expected," they said in unison. He continued, "The Official sent a fax of you, but we were sure it was doctored. We were wrong. You do look sixteen."

"Which is why the bartender spent forever checking my driver's license. My shiny badge seemed to convince him, though," Alyx said with a small smile. "It actually has a use besides being a lump in my pocket."

The waiter arrived with the drinks and Alyx lifted her glass and downed a sizable portion of hers, pleased that there was more than enough tequila in it this time. Morris tried his beer, with a bit of suspicion at first and then with pleasure. It was fantastic. He wondered how she knew he preferred dark brews.

"Wonderful. I'm impressed," he praised, raising the glass in a toast. "Call me Stephen, by the way."

"All right, Stephen. One decent thing about this tourist trap of a town is good micro brews. Gotta keep the masses happy, and for most Budweiser just won't do it." Alyx raised her own glass and drank, after licking a portion of salt off the rim. She watched him carefully, trying to get an idea of what he was thinking without having to use her abilities.

"Rumors have been flying all over Washington the last few months about your little Agency. The last year or so there seems to have been a major turnaround. I wonder how much you have to do with that," Stephen mused aloud, watching her just as carefully.

"Not likely. I've only been working for them a few months," Alyx answered. "I haven't done anything too interesting, except for having to be rescued from a forest fire."

"Yes. I heard about that. I seem to recall you got caught in the fire because you were trying to disarm the incendiary devices. And that was after you had captured the men who set them," he commented, leaning back in the chair a bit.

"A failure all the way around," Alyx replied before finishing off her drink. She signaled the waiter for another.

"No one in my Agency thinks so," Stephen told her. "Considering what could have happened, they were quite pleased with the outcome." It was true. Several agencies had been after the group that started the fires, for a variety of reasons. The group had been taken down completely, with what they considered minimal damage to civilians. Somehow he knew she wouldn't agree with that, so he chose, rightly, not to mention it.

Alyx just shook her head. She was not in the mood to get into an argument about what she considered a complete fiasco of a mission. More things had gone wrong in those two days than she had ever thought possible, and just when she'd thought things were improving, they had gotten worse. Things still hadn't settled out completely in her mind. She nodded to the waiter as he arrived with her drink.

"So here's where you're hiding," said a voice from behind her. Alyx turned to see Darien standing over them, a frown on his face.

"Hey, Darien." Alyx ignored the frown. "Agent Stephen Morris, this is one of my partners. Agent Darien Fawkes."

"Good to meet you, Agent Fawkes. I've heard quite a bit about you." Stephen stood and offered his hand to be shaken. Darien ignored it.

"There are two gentlemen in our suite, waiting to start the meeting and wondering why you two aren't there yet." Darien was obviously still in a bad mood.

"Go ahead. I'll settle up the bill," Alyx offered, getting up from the seat. She picked up her jacket, which had been thrown over the back of the chair, and walked to the bar.

Darien shook his head. He should have known that under that conservative suit the real Alyx was lurking. The back of the shirt was nothing but a crisscross of beaded strings. Both men waited for her to return each sizing the other up.

Alyx took longer than she planned, simply because something on the TV caught her eye and she asked the bartender to turn it up. It wasn't anything much, just information on Tropical Storm Amanda which was still several days away from Florida and expected to neither develop nor make landfall on the US coast. "Wanna bet?" she muttered at the weatherman, then thanked the bartender and turned to rejoin the men at the table. She mentally groaned at the way they were eyeing each other. Picking up her drink, she downed it quickly. "Shall we? Destiny, once again, awaits."

As they stood in the elevator going up to their floor Alyx said to Darien in his mind_, *Don't you dare start this again_..*

He twitched slightly but didn't acknowledge her in any way. She sighed. It was going to be a long night.

Back at the suite, Stephen handled the introductions between Alyx and the two men he had come with. Agent Thompson from the DEA and Lieutenant Farrell from the Coast Guard. They gave Alyx a quick review of what they had planned while Bobby took Darien aside.

"Kid ain't going to like this one. I don't like it one bit," Bobby informed his partner and shaking his head. "Where'd you find her?"

"Found _them_ in the bar. Getting along just peachy," Darien nearly snarled.

"Down, boy. She was probably just making nice with the suit," he suggested, then moved to rejoin the group.

Alyx was wishing she'd ordered something stronger at the bar. "You have got to be kidding me. This plan of yours, while quite creative, is nuts."

"It's the plan that has been approved. We want you because we have been unable to find another agent who is experienced enough and also looks the right age. And you definitely look young enough," Thompson stated. He looked up at her two partners. "She is old enough, right?"

"Quite old enough," Darien confirmed as he sat down in one of the chairs. "So what exactly is this 'plan'?"

Agent Morris said, "We want to arrange it so she gets picked up by the smugglers and stays with them to learn their route. We had an agent on the inside, but we haven't had contact with him in several months and are concerned he may be dead."

"What does this have to do with drug smuggling?" Darien asked.

"Darien, drugs aren't the only things these guys smuggle." Alyx turned to face him and she wasn't looking very happy.

"What else? What would require four different Agencies cooperating to catch these guys?" Darien asked feeling irritated.

Alyx glared at him. "Kids, Darien. These guys are slavers." She turned back to Stephen. "I take it they're working the Orlando area right now."

"Yes they work most of the gulf coast, hitting a new area every month or so. We caught a bit of a break this time. We need you to get picked up, which I don't see as a problem. These guys like unusual and unique in their merchandise," Thompson stated in a bland voice.

"Merchandise? These are kids you're talking about, not some bootlegged Disney videos," Hobbes said with a frown.

"We know," Stephen agreed. "We need you to stay for the entire route so that we can learn their delivery points. We want to break up this organization completely, so we need to know who is handling the sales at the other end. Once you have that information, you can escape and make contact." He stood up and handed her a file, which she opened. "These are some of the kids we've been able to verify they have taken. We've only recovered two kids, and then only by sheer luck."

Alyx thumbed over the photos. "I still don't like it. If I get picked up, if they take me on their little cruise, how do you track me?"

"We can wire you, but it would be dangerous," Thompson announced.

Alyx looked at Bobby. "You did remember the gear right?"

"Yeah kid. Had a feeling we might need it," he replied.

"Good. We'll handle the tracking device. Ours are probably far less conspicuous than yours," Alyx told them. "How long do we have?"

"Based on the past, they'll be leaving in less than three days. We want to insert you tomorrow afternoon. We have a good idea of the area they're working and we know which ship they're using this time." He nodded to the Lieutenant Farrell.

"We'll follow the ship as closely as we dare, for as long as we dare, but after that you'll be on your own until you make contact at the other end," Farrell said to her.

"So you're hoping that sometime within the next two days they'll decide she's valuable," Darien said the next word as if it tasted bad, "merchandise and take her along for the ride."

"Exactly," Thompson agreed.

"You realize this could get her very dead if they figure out what she is?" Bobby mentioned offhandedly.

"Ain't that part of the job, Bobby?" Alyx reminded him. "I'll need to do some shopping in the morning." All the men looked at her blankly. "I need to downgrade the quality of my clothes. Not too many runaways have custom fit, black leather pants."

"I didn't think of that," Stephen muttered. "Anything else we didn't think of?"

"I have some ideas." Her voice changed and she suddenly sounded younger, slightly frightened, and from the deep South. With a near perfect drawl she went into her spiel. "Howdy y'all. Ah'm from a small town near Baton Rouge." She smiled at the stunned expressions on the faces of three of the men. "Will that do?"

"Kid, you've done it again. You broke them." Bobby grinned.

"I'm supposed to be a runaway, right? Why would I be from around here?" Alyx pointed out, tossing the file on the table and sitting down. "Lets get the details worked out, gentlemen. I'm not going into this without backup somewhere nearby."

Darien watched in dismay as they got involved in the details of the job. Bobby was right; this plan was stupid. It was too likely to get her killed or sold to some slimeball who liked them young and fresh-faced. After about an hour, they ordered room service for dinner.

"What can you do, Agent Fawkes?" Stephen asked him, since Darien had been fairly quiet through the entire discussion.

"Apparently very little," he grumbled. He used to be the one other agencies were begging for. Now Alyx was getting all the attention. He couldn't decide whether to be annoyed or feel sorry for her.

Alyx just glanced over at him, then turned back to the discussion. Let him deal with his problems himself, she had to figure out how to keep her ass in one piece on this one.

By the time the food had arrived Darien had lost his appetite. He didn't have much to contribute to the planning, and between how cozy Alyx seemed to be getting with Agent Morris and the mere thought of her being taken by slavers....

Slavery, in this day and age. He was convinced more than ever that the world was falling to pieces. This whole situation left his mouth dry and made him wonder what the heck he was doing here. It's not like he was going to be of any use. He just hoped everything would go well for all of them for a change.

When their discussion began to repeat itself, Alyx booted everyone out, telling them to meet her back at the suite for lunch. She planned on being ready by then. Once the three men were gone she began picking up the remains from dinner. Bobby helped her while Darien watched from the chair he hadn't moved from the entire night. Darien could hear them talking as they worked but didn't really listen to what they were saying.

Bobby finally said good night and headed to the bedroom he and Darien shared. Alyx went over to Darien and stood looking down at him slouching in the chair and staring at the TV.

"Do you want to tell me, or shall I just make some assumptions?" she asked him. She wasn't quite sure why he was upset this time and didn't want to guess.

He stood up, switching off the TV as he did so. "Nothing to say."

She turned, following his movements. "Darien, please."

He stopped, his back to her.

"I don't understand your attitude," she said quietly. "I had a drink with the guy and talked to him. He is at least 10 years younger than me and he's not who I'm interested in." She walked past him towards her bedroom. "I was being polite, I thought."

Darien still hadn't moved and didn't until she had shut the door behind her. Once again he'd screwed things up.


	2. Clouds on the Horizon

***

Alyx came awake in the darkness, at first not sure where she was. She shook her head, trying to banish the last vestiges of the dream from her mind with little success. A bloody week of this now. She would really appreciate a night of actual sleep. She took one look at the remains of the bed and gave it up as a bad job. The temp in the room might have been all of 70 degrees, but her body was convinced it was much warmer. Her heart still pounded and sweat still soaked her clothes so that they clung tightly to her. If she had to have those kinds of dreams, you'd figure she'd dream about the one and only guy she'd willingly had sex with in the last five years, but no.

Throwing one of the pillows across the room in irritation, she got off the bed and wandered out to the suite's kitchen area. And there she found the very person who had been disturbing her slumber, rummaging around in the fridge. She stood in the doorway of the small galley kitchen, listening to him hum as he searched for a midnight snack.

"So you couldn't sleep either?" Alyx asked.

Startled, Darien jerked upwards, banging his head on the top of the fridge and began swearing. He stood up, rubbing the back of his head, and turned around to glare at her.

Alyx swallowed hard at the view of him in just his pajama bottoms. His workouts were obviously paying off. He was looking quite tasty. Not what she needed at the moment. She managed to squeak out, "Sorry."

"Too hot to sleep, and Hobbes is snoring," Darien groused, moving to the counter with his prize. "What's your excuse?"

She moved into the kitchen herself and opened the fridge, retrieving a bottle of water. "Dreams." She twisted off the top and drank off a good portion of the water without pausing. "Haven't slept well in a while." She ran one hand through her hair and hissed at how damp it was.

He chuckled. He'd had more than a few nights like that himself. Although he had to wonder exactly what, or perhaps who, her dreams were about. He dug out a fork after a bit of searching and began eating the pasta cold. "Want to talk about it?" he asked around a mouthful of food.

Talk about it? Just thinking about it made the room feel way too warm. Alyx shook her head. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Hmmm. So I'll have to guess, huh?" Darien teased, setting his fork down and looking at her. It was a good thing she was wearing black; the entire front of her shirt was soaked with sweat. He could see the sheen of it on her skin. Her arms, her throat, her stomach. She obviously felt comfortable enough around him, considering the little she was walking around in. The tank top only came down to her ribs, showing off exactly how muscular she was. Looking lower he had to swallow hard. Boy cut shorts hugged every curve, showing she was just as muscular below the waist as above. It wasn't often he saw her in such revealing clothes and it really made him wish she would stop pushing him away.

Alyx leaned back against the doorway and tipped her head up, her eyes closing for a moment. Then her head tipped down and she looked at him, her eyes bright. "Go for it."

His heart jumped at her words, but he managed to keep his mind on answering the question instead of the variety of tempting images that came to mind. "Well, you said 'dreams', not nightmares, so I'll assume it was nothing bad for a change," he spculated, going back to the fridge and pulling out a soda. He opened it and drank, watching her the entire time. She didn't drop her gaze, meeting his eyes without flinching. He'd never seen her quite so bold before. "Perhaps it was someone in particular you were dreaming about." He was assuming it was Garrett. He stepped up to her, forcing her to look up at him or back away. Much to his surprise she didn't move. Her hand came up and traced a line from the top of his pajama bottoms to the center of his chest.

"Perhaps," she replied, her voice quiet. This was completely nuts, but she couldn't seem to stop herself, not tonight. "Then again, perhaps not." She leaned in and kissed him on the throat. She had forgotten how wonderful he tasted and she ran her tongue across his skin. Breathing in his scent, she sighed. He didn't move, but she could feel the increase of his heart rate under her hand and under her lips as she paused over the artery in his neck. "Have you figured it out yet?"

When she stepped back slightly, her hand still on his chest, Darien just looked at her, stunned for a moment, then lifted a hand to rest on hers. She pulled her hand out from under his, sliding it back down his stomach before stepping away completely. Much to his surprise, despite her withdrawal, she was still looking him in the eye. "What game is this?" he asked, confused.

"No game, Dare. With you it's never a game," Alyx responded, watching him and wondering what he might do.

He brought his hand up to her face and kissed her. Lightly at first, then with an increasing hunger. He was tired of fighting with her over this. When she didn't push him away and instead responded by opening her mouth beneath his, he found he had to pull away, needing a moment to regain some sort of control before the gland decided to join in on the fun.

She slid out of his hold and moved away, heading back to her room.

Darien caught up with her, circling around to stand between her and the door. "Alyx," he growled at her. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to bed," she told him, attempting to go around him.

Darien grabbed her arm and stopped her. He expected her to pull away, glare at him, yell, but she just looked at him and licked her lips.

"You are tempting, but not yet," she informed him quietly.

He was so surprised by her comment that she slipped out of his hold and walked past him. She paused and he turned his head slightly to watch her. She ran her hand across his shoulders and leaned in to kiss the center of his back. "Goodnight Darien."

He spun around, just in time to have the door close quietly in his face. He leaned his head on the door, wondering what the hell had just happened. "Crap."

***

It wasn't until Alyx was dressing early the next the morning that she discovered the pillow lying in a pitiful heap on the floor and remembered fully. She groaned. She'd thought it was just another dream, but apparently not. That would explain the half-full bottle of water on the nightstand. She had probably been far more asleep than awake. Gods, she was going to have to deal with this situation soon before it drove her completely off the deep end.

Great. Mind of a grown woman and the body of a teenager. No, wait, make that a horny teenager, and last night it had been the hormones in charge, obviously. She'd had more damn control when she'd really been 16 than she apparently did now. Of course, she'd been in college then and there hadn't been a whole lot of guys interested in dating an underage genius. Their loss. But now, apparently, her hormones - heck, her heart - had a target in mind and they weren't going to let her have any peace until she admitted it to herself.

With one last glare at herself, she grabbed her backpack and headed out into the lovely central Florida weather to do a wee bit of shopping. She returned around 10am, a few dollars lighter and with an assortment of clothing that would do any modern, hip teenager proud. Giving the suite a quick mental check, she found only Darien, still dead to the world. Bobby must have gone out. Maybe he was down at the pool trying to impress the girls again.

Going through her purchases, she sorted out what she was going to wear and packed the rest in the ratty old backpack she had bought just for that purpose. She packed the four outfits she wasn't going to wear, tossed in a couple of her own t-shirts and a selection of undergarments. She'd be leaving her good boots behind and would wear her sneakers. Looking over the few bits of jewelry she had brought with her, she traded her current earrings for the set that had the tracking device hidden in one. She'd have to make sure it worked before she headed out on this little mission. A few strokes with the make up she had bought and she was looking even younger than usual, and like a tart at that. Perfect for the role of a pretty young thing on the streets.

When she came out of the room in her new attire, she startled Darien, now conscious but not yet fully awake, as he tried to make coffee. He stared at her for a long moment; a bit surprised at her appearance. From the bandana atop her head, to the spaghetti strap shirt that didn't reach her navel, to the loose fitting jeans that sat very low on her hips, she looked just like every other teenager he'd seen lately hanging out on the street corners. He and Hobbes had dodged a collection of them yesterday after lunch. The spitting image of a rebellious adolescent.

"Alyx?" It was far more a question of his sanity than anything else.

"Who were you expecting?" she teased, moving past him and completing the coffee-making process he'd begun and then forgotten.

Right then and there he decided that, no matter how young she looked, he much preferred the adult Alyx to the teenage one. People would think she was his kid or something. "Uh, thanks," he mumbled.

"Darien, it's still me under the special effects," she said with a smile.

"Is that what last night was? Special effects?" He leaned back against the counter and stared at her.

That hurt, but Alyx did her best not to react. "If you say so." She pushed past him.

He didn't let her get away, and all it took was a hand on her shoulder to stop her in her tracks. "Talk to me."

Alyx laughed. "Talk? All of a sudden you want to talk? What, no sneers, glares, or accusations? Give me a break." She had turned around to face him while she said this, letting his hand drop back to his side. "I haven't spent all this time fighting the temptation thrown at me daily just to blow it all now for a cheap thrill."

Darien was struck by several emotions at once. Anger at her attitude, a perverse sort of pleasure that she had to fight temptation where he was concerned, dismay that she thought he had only one thing on his mind. Anger won. "Yes, talk. You know, that thing you seem to be able to do with any other male but me. You planning on sleeping with Morris as well?"

Alyx went pale at not only the words but at the cold viciousness with which they were uttered. "No. I can safely say I'm not planning on sleeping with anyone in the near future."

Bobby entered the suite on those words and looked at his two partners. It was quite obvious that things were swiftly falling apart between them. If they continued like this there would be no way they'd be able to work together anymore, and he was finally getting used to juggling the two of them, finally getting them to use their abilities to their best advantage, finally paired with partners he not only trusted, but liked. Stepping between them he admonished, "Kiddies, play nice."

Alyx looked at him and said in a very cold, controlled voice, "Send him home or I'll call the Official and have it done myself."

This was not going well at all.

"Go right ahead, call him. We'll see how far that will get you," Darien challenged, sounding nearly as cold as her.

If these two didn't sort out their problems soon, one of them, most likely Bobby Hobbes, was going to get hurt. "Enough, both of you. Bickering like a couple of children."

"Tell him to stop acting like one!" Alyx shouted, pointing at Darien.

"Me? Look at little miss I'm better..." Darien began.

"ENOUGH!" Bobby roared, spinning to face Darien. "The two of you had better work out your problems now, because we have a job to do and I won't let whatever is going on between you to interfere."

"Don't worry, Bobby, the _nothing_ that is going on between us won't interfere." Alyx was at the door of the suite and, as they watched, she opened it and stalked out, slamming it behind her. It looked far more impressive than it sounds; she never actually touched the door.

Bobby turned back to Darien, poking him several times in the chest to punctuate his words. "Are you completely insane?"

Darien shoved him away and walked out into the middle of the room. "Not yet, give me a few days." He sat down on the sofa and tipped his head up to look at the ceiling.

"You haven't let up on the kid in weeks. I don't care why, but stop it." Bobby walked over and stood in front of Darien. "If she calls the Official, it'll be my ass, not yours, since I'm the senior partner."

"Hobbes..."

"Fawkes, leave her alone or I _will_ send you home and _you_ can explain everything to the Fat Man. You got me?" Bobby snapped at him.

"Yeah, I got it." Darien got up from the sofa and walked out of the suite as well.

He wandered around for a while until he found Alyx. She was in one of the lounge areas overlooking the pool, sitting with her chin resting on her hand and staring out at the people, or so it appeared.

Without turning she spoke up, "If you're just going to snap at me some more, you can go."

"I wasn't planning on it," he grumbled. "But I suppose I can, if you're in the mood for it."

She just continued to stare out the window. "Why are you so mad at me?"

"Why? Maybe it's because one minute I can't get near you and the next you're all over me," Darien answered, sitting in a nearby chair.

Alyx closed her eyes and rubbed her face with her hands. "I'm sorry, last night was an accident. I was, for all intents and purposes, sleepwalking." Darien looked as if he was about to make a comment but she forestalled him with a raised hand. "I'm not making an excuse. I'm trying to explain. A lot has happened to me recently and I'm still trying to sort some things out. Most of it has nothing to do with you." She turned to look at him and she managed a small smile. "Can you be patient, please?"

"Why should I be? Why should I put up with this any longer?" he asked, his face showing no emotion.

"You don't have to, Darien, and I won't ask you to." Alyx got up from the chair and began to walk away.

"Gonna run away again?" he questioned quietly.

"Have to," she replied. She was not yet ready to face him, hadn't yet made a decision. At least not one she was ready to admit to.

He got up and went after her, blocking her path much as he had the night before. "Do you have any idea what this is doing to me?" he whispered to her.

"Yes. I'm doing it to myself as well." When she moved again, he let her go, not trying to stop her this time.

***

"Bobby, is the damn thing working or not?" Alyx asked getting impatient.

"Yeah kid, it's working, finally. Near as I can tell your little talent is interfering with the signal," Bobby commented, making a few more adjustments with the equipment.

She whapped him on the arm. "Why didn't you say so?"

She did something and within seconds the signal went from intermittent to clear and perfect. "I can probably boost the signal a bit if you want."

"Nah, not yet anyway," Bobby responded, smiling at her. "Be careful, kid."

"Me, Bobby?" Alyx queried, sounding innocent.

The side door of the van slid open, letting in the afternoon heat. Agent Morris was outside. "We ready yet?"

"Yuppers." She tossed the backpack on one shoulder and climbed out of the van. "Three days or confirmation that the boat has left, right?"

"Yes. Good luck," Stephen said to her.

"I make my own," Alyx replied. "Be good, Bobby."

Darien sat silent in the driver's seat of the van, refusing to look at her, refusing to say goodbye, refusing to watch her leave. They hadn't spoken, had avoided each other entirely, since parting in the lounge earlier.

Alyx walked around the back of the van, out of sight of everyone, and Quicksilvered. She walked the couple blocks to the bus station and waited about twenty minutes for a bus arriving from northern Florida. With a little creative timing, she let the Quicksilver flake away and merged with the crowd, making it look like she had arrived on this bus. She blended in with the crowd, at least as much as a teen alone can, and then headed out into the city looking to hook up with the local runaway groups. The 10 years she'd spent living here had fortunately left her with a good idea of where to look.

She dodged the afternoon thunderstorms under I-4, which had been turned into a giant parking area in the middle of downtown. She'd forgotten exactly how violent the storms could be and learned she was very, _very_ sensitive to them. She always knew when, and to a degree where, a strike would occur. She managed not to get soaked or lightning-struck and learned she was not alone in hiding under the highway. For the time being, though, she kept her distance.

By the time evening rolled around she found herself in Church Street working the crowd. It didn't take long to identify a few others in the same situation she was pretending to face, but she continued to make a point of avoiding them. She also made a point not to attract the attention of the police who were all over the place. She'd have to be off the streets by midnight, since as far as she knew there was still a curfew in effect for the downtown area. Around 10pm she got something to eat from one of the restaurants and made sure it was to go. She knew better than to draw attention to herself from the store owners. She only had a little cash on her so this would be her last meal for a while.

A little after 1am found her over by Lake Eola, a few blocks away from Church Street. She filled her water bottle at one of the water fountains and pretended to ignore the group of about six that was trying to surreptitiously follow her. When they made themselves known just a few minutes later, she went immediately on the defensive. She went at the first guy who approached her with a standard karate move, making sure to fumble it a bit. This way they would know she could protect herself, but that she was not an expert at it.

"Easy kid," the ringleader soothed after she had landed that one guy on his ass. "We don't want to hurt you."

"Yeah, right. What do ah look like to y'all, a fool?" she snapped back at them, remembering to add the deep drawl to her words. She then began to back away.

With a subtle hand signal, he got his group to surround her. "It's obvious you're new here. We just want to offer a place to crash for the night. Maybe some food if you're hungry."

Alyx probed his mind gently and learned that he was a scout for the slavers and she, she was going to be a bonus for him. He'd already met his quota, but knew she would be an exceptional find for his boss. She knew that he would take her by force if he couldn't persuade her so Alyx decided that she would allow herself to be persuaded.

"Why?" she questioned, sounding suspicious.

"My boss likes to help kids in trouble, that's all," he replied, stepping closer to her. "I'm Evan. C'mon, if you don't like the place you can leave in the morning."

Alyx relaxed slightly. "Ah can leave if ah want to?"

"My word," he assured her, holding out a hand. "What's your name?"

"Hope," Alyx answered.

"Well, Hope, tonight you are lucky as well." Evan and his group escorted her out of the park. After a bit of a walk, they entered the office of a small warehouse. The other kids split away, heading to other sections of the building, while Evan took Alyx into an office where three men were talking. None of them looked very friendly or very happy to have Evan coming in this late.

"Evan, what now? I thought we had settled up..." The man behind the desk stopped when he caught sight of Alyx. He got up from behind the desk and came to stand in front of her. She did her best to look both brave and terrified at the same time. "Well, what have we here?" He looked Alyx over carefully, even going so far as to remove the bandana she wore to hide her hair. The two other men in the room made a few quiet comments about her looks. "Good job, Evan. She'll be worth the time to ship."

Alyx backed away from the man who she now knew from a gentle probe of his mind to be the first mate on the slaver ship. Still, she couldn't just let them have her easily. "What are y'all talking about?" She looked from Evan to the slaver and back again.

"Sorry, Hope. Guess you should've stayed home," Evan said, backing towards one of the walls. The other two men in the room spread out to surround her. One grabbed her by the arm from behind and she reacted by putting an elbow into his stomach followed by a fist to his face. She pulled both punches; she wasn't actually trying to get away. He let go of her and grabbed his now bleeding nose, but wasn't hurt all that badly.

"She's more than she seems, good. Hurry up, and don't damage her." The first mate ordered, sounding slightly impressed.

The one with the bloody nose grabbed her again, this time securing both arms behind her back. Alyx squirmed and fought, but not quite hard enough to escape. It took a cloth covered in chloroform to get her under control. When she was sleeping peacefully on the floor the first mate said. "Get her cleaned up and ready for shipment. I know just the buyer for her. And make sure not to damage her. She's going to be worth a bundle."

***

Alyx woke up feeling nauseous and tried to stand, only to smack her head on the top of the box she was in. "What the...?" she muttered when the world stopped spinning. Closing her eyes, she concentrated. She was on a truck, in a box that wasn't more than three feet on a side. A little on the small size, even for her. She was wearing clothes that were not hers- a jumpsuit of some sort. She checked her earlobes, then swore. The earrings were gone; she was on her own now.

She tested the different sections of the box and found the side that opened. One good shove with her mind and the top of the box flew off, leaving her able to stand. She was betting she wasn't supposed to be awake yet and there was no way she couldn't at least put in a token, though failing, effort to escape. It just wouldn't look right.

She dozed while waiting for the truck to reach its destination and came fully awake when it did. As soon as the door opened she made a break for it. She didn't have much of a chance; there were seven men waiting for her. They were as gentle as they could be, given that she was fighting like a hell-cat to get away.

"Just get the collar on her," a voice barked. While three men held her another put something around her neck. As soon as it had clicked shut they let her go and backed away. She stood there shaking for a moment and then took off running. She didn't make it far. The collar around her neck came to life, pouring electricity into her system. Her first instinct was to control the energy, shunt it aside, shut the collar down. She couldn't. All she did was make it worse. Everything she tried to do just increased the energy coming out of the collar.

Somehow she managed not to Quicksilver. That would be bad. Giving up on the collar, she instead tried to blow out the control mechanism being held by the man who had spoken. That didn't work either, once again increasing the pain being transmitted to her. With a screech of both anger and pain she went to her knees, pulling at the collar. She could no longer control her own powers. The pain continued to increase until she passed out. Only then did the feedback loop she'd created shut down.

The Captain looked down at her as she lay on the ground. "Interesting," he said. "Get her inside. I want to start training her immediately."

***

"I don't like this, Hobbes. She hasn't moved in 12 hours," Darien said to his partner. They were sitting in the borrowed surveillance van, down the street from the warehouse where the tracker signal was coming from.

"Neither do I, but they're sitting on their thumbs again," Hobbes grouched, rechecking the equipment.

"I'm going to check it out." Darien opened the door to the van and stepped out into the summer heat.

"Fawkes, wait," Hobbes shouted, following him out the door.

"What, Hobbes?" Darien was still not in the best of moods. He and Bobby had argued about Alyx several times since dropping her off, which was why they were in a separate vehicle from the others.

"Put on the headset at least," Bobby suggested, holding out the instrument to his partner.

Darien sighed and leaned against the side of the van. "Sorry, Bobby."

It took a couple of minutes to get Darien wired and make sure it worked. After a quick check of the area, Darien strolled down the block to the warehouse. Going around the side of the building, he quicksilvered and made his way to the doors. Checking inside he saw nothing: no people, no furniture, no security. He swiftly and easily picked the lock, letting the coating flake off his hands to work the picks and then making them once he was inside. "I'm in, Hobbes. Which way?" He was looking down a hallway with several doors off it, all of which were closed.

"Straight ahead from your location," Hobbes replied, sitting in the van looking at the two tracking signals on the screen before him.

"You're the boss." Darien checked in the rooms as he walked down the hallway. Only one room had anything inside: a desk, a file cabinet, and a garbage can. The rest of the place was bare. Darien got to the door at the end of the hall and opened it. "I'm in the warehouse area now. There's nothing here."

Bobby whacked the monitor on the side but the image didn't change. "Straight ahead about twenty feet."

"Hobbes, it's a dumpster," Darien observed, the dismay evident in his voice. Opening the lid, he found, not his worst fear, but close. The ratty backpack she'd taken with her was in the dumpster and, after a quick check, he found her earrings inside. "Hobbes, it's just her stuff. Alyx isn't here." Holding the earrings in his hand, he had a horrible thought come to his mind. "Bobby, call Farrell and find out if the boat is still docked."

"Crap Fawkes, it had better be," Bobby hissed. "Don't touch anything else in there, just in case."

Several minutes went by while Darien waited impatiently for an answer.

"We're coming in partner," Hobbes whispered in his ear. "Don't be hiding."

Darien smiled and dropped the Quicksilver. Granted, the CIA, or at least parts thereof, already knew about his talent, but he really didn't need every individual agent knowing what he could do. They arrived within moments. "A forensic team is on the way to go over this place. The boat left just after dawn this morning. We've been sitting here all day on a snipe hunt," Bobby bitched to his partner. "Apparently they didn't think it was important to let us know the boat had left."

Darien pulled off the headset and let it dangle down his back, then continued to pour the earrings from hand to hand. "Now what? They've got six hours on us, at least."

"Now we get on a cutter and hope we can find the damn ship before they get too far out," Agent Morris told them. "I've arranged for a helicopter to get us out to the coast. Your stuff at the hotel will be delivered to the boat before we leave." He surveyed the warehouse, running his hands through his hair until it was a complete mess. "I hate screw-ups."

"Screw-up? You call this a screw-up?" Darien seethed, getting into the younger man's face.

"Yes. Her job was to get picked up by them. She has succeeded in that." Morris reminded, not backing down in the least. "We just weren't able to track her as far as planned," 

"There's another complication," Lieutenant Farrell reported as he walked into the room closing a cell phone.

"What now?" Hobbes snapped at him.

"Amanda has decided to grow up." Farrell saw the blank looks on the faces of the two Agency men. "Amanda is now a full-fledged hurricane, and she has decided to ignore the weathermen around here."

"What about it?" Darien asked, not finding much to interest him in a rainstorm at sea. He was far more used to dealing with earthquakes than hurricanes.

"Unless these slavers are real lucky, they are going to run right into it," Farrell explained, "with your partner on board."

"I knew this was a bad idea," Bobby lamented, throwing up his hands in irritation. "Any more good news?"

"We have reports of a girl matching her description being taken on their ship, alive," Farrell supplied.

"Great, now all we have to do is hope they avoid the storm, reach their destination, and don't kill her along the way," Darien grumbled, rubbing the back of his head.

Bobby watched his partner carefully. "Fawkes, let's get back out to the van. Morris can handle things in here."

As Morris watched, Hobbes urged Darien out of the building and back down the street to the van. He shoved Darien in ahead of him once the door was open, then grabbed his partner's right wrist. The monitor tattoo had three segments left. "Were you going to mention this?" Bobby wondered.

"I hadn't noticed," Darien said truthfully.

"You always rub the back of your neck when the headaches start, Fawkes." Bobby opened a cooler that was under some equipment. "Start the engine, would you? It's an oven in here."

Darien did so, while behind him Bobby prepared a shot of counteragent for his partner. He went over the Keeper's instructions in his mind as he prepared it, making sure it was exactly as she had said before getting Darien's attention. "All right, Fawkes, give me that arm of yours."

Darien turned in the seat and was rather surprised to see Bobby wielding one of those damn horse needles he so hated. "And what do you think you're gonna to do with that?"

"Stick it in your arm, what else?" Bobby snarked, not looking forward to this any more than Darien was. "Don't argue. With the kid gone, I'm it."

With a sigh Darien held out his arm and tried not to flinch when the needle inexpertly broke his skin. "Jeeze, Hobbes. You trying to hurt me?"

"Sorry, Fawkes. The Keep has had the kid working on this. I'm the emergency back up," Bobby informed his partner as he removed the syringe. He put it back in its storage container until it could be disposed of.

"The Keep, Claire, has been training Alyx to do this?" Darien asked.

"For a few weeks now, why?" Hobbes replied as he turned off and put away the gear they weren't going to need any more today.

"Oh, no reason." Darien adjusted the air conditioning, trying to convince the van to cool below hothouse temperature. "We have to get her back, Bobby."

"We will, my friend. We will."


	3. Gray Skies

***

Alyx woke up, but didn't open her eyes immediately. Whatever the problem was between her abilities and the collar, it didn't affect her improved senses. She could feel that she was on a mattress of some kind, and on a ship. The slight roll of the waves coupled with the vibration of the engines told her that. She heard breathing, movement, and quiet conversation, which told her she wasn't alone. She guessed there were about 12 others in the room, all of them female. Taking stock of herself, she found she had one heck of a headache, her neck felt singed, and the back of her right hand itched like crazy.

Opening her eyes, she found the room only dimly lit and adjusted her sight until it seemed bright as day. She lay in the bottom bunk of one of the half dozen bunk beds in the room. All had girls in them, a couple looked as young as 12 or 13. Raising her hand, she noticed the tattoo that had been put on it. Examining it carefully, she came to the conclusion that it was a temp. Would probably last a week or two. She didn't recognize the symbol, but somehow she knew she'd find out about it in the near future.

All the girls nearby were dozing, so Alyx decided to be brave. She Quicksilvered her hand, waiting for the pain. When nothing happened, she Quicksilvered completely, rolled off the bunk and began to make her way through the room. She checked over some of the girls as she walked. Quite a few of them looked drugged, and most of them looked scared even in their sleep. Children, all of them, being sold to the highest bidder for gods knew what purpose. Come hell or high water, she was going to stop these bastards.

There was an open area near the door that was the exit to the room. The only other doorway led to what appeared to be the bathroom/shower combo for the girls. Alyx reached the exit, but when she went to try the door handle it moved on its own. She backed away and ducked behind one of the tables nearby. The first mate and a couple of others she didn't recognize came into the room.

"Get her. The Captain wants to get started," the first mate ordered with a wave of his hand.

The two others headed right to the bunk Alyx had been lying in. "She ain't here."

"She can't have gone far. Find her," he shouted at the men. Several of the girls woke up and huddled on their beds, terrified of the men. They checked everywhere, including under the bunks. "Forget it," he said after several fruitless minutes of searching. "I'll get her to come out." He flipped the switch on the control he held. It was designed to be set for one of a dozen or so different frequencies or for any combination thereof. He set it just for hers.

With a scream, Alyx became visible and fell backwards onto the floor behind the table. "Turn it off, bastard!" She kicked out at the table, knocking it loose from the bolts holding it to the floor.

The first mate walked over to stand looking down at her. "Well, where did you think you were going?" He switched the controller off with a laugh.

Alyx took a deep breath. "Thank you," she said, then kicked him hard enough to break his kneecap. He fell to the floor screaming. His two compatriots rushed over and grabbed at her, but she had already rolled to her feet and stood ready to defend herself. They kept her from moving while the first mate got back to his feet, leaning heavily against the table.

"Bitch. I'm going to enjoy watching the Captain break you." He turned the controller on again.

Alyx went to her knees, trying to fight past the pain. Hoping what had happened outside was a fluke, she again tried to control the energy flow. As before, though, it just increased the pain tenfold. She still didn't understand it, but she managed to stop the energy loop this time and the pain fell back to its original level. Still nasty, but manageable in comparison. She tried again, this time trying to shut down the controller. Once again the pain increased and she ended up on her back, her head slamming into the steel bulkhead that was the floor. She saw stars. The pain stopped suddenly but the room still spun, she'd whacked her head so hard. She felt hands lift her and drag her from the room, but she couldn't find the energy to fight. Not right now.

Right now, she wished she'd told Morris to sod off and come up with a different plan.

Alyx realized she must have passed out somewhere along the way, because when she came to she was lying half on a bed, in a room she didn't recognize, being raped. The piece of slime was leaning on his hands over her, grunting and panting his way to climax. Dear lord, she had forgotten how much it hurt to have this done to oneself. At least this time she wasn't afraid to strike back. Using the heel of her hand, she slammed the guy in the nose, causing him to jerk back and off her. Once he was far enough away she lashed out with her foot, kicking him as hard as she could in the stomach. He doubled over and dropped to the floor, much to the amusement of the other men in the room.

Alyx rolled off the bed and into a crouch. This was not part of the plan and there was no way in hell she was going to put up with it, job or no job. The Official could take her to task later.

"I told you, Captain," the first mate reminded from behind an ornate wooden desk where he was getting his knee wrapped.

"So you did, Damon." He looked over the edge of the bed at where Alyx crouched. "Come out, little one."

"Ah don't think so," Alyx growled, still affecting the heavy drawl. Given that the collar wasn't currently shocking her into tomorrow, she tried to probe the Captain's mind. Much to her surprise, the collar immediately came to life. Swearing, she grabbed at it, trying to pull it off, but continued to probe at his mind. She got some vague images, but was forced to stop as the pain only increased.

"Damon," the captain admonished his first.

"Not me," he denied, holding up the control, which was currently off.

"Interesting." The captain moved over to her where Alyx lay on the floor of his cabin. "Very interesting." He reached down and grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled herupright. "I'm not sure what you're doing, but I suggest you stop it. I want to break you, not kill you."

Alyx might have been naked and in pain, but that didn't stop her from fighting. Ignoring the hand in her hair, she shifted slightly and tried to kick him in the leg. He was ready for her and turned the collar on. As soon as she was lost to the pain, he dropped her to the deck and watched as she writhed and moaned. After a couple of minutes he shut it off. She looked up at him, her eyes filled with both anger and tears. "Briggs, get the shackle on her. Amber, help get her cleaned up."

Two people stepped out of the crowd in the room: a girl of about 15 and a man with black hair and bright blue eyes. Together they got her dressed. The man attached a cuff and chain combination to her left ankle and affixed the other end to a metal loop, designed for just that purpose, on one of the legs of the desk. By the time this was completed, only Briggs, Amber and the Captain remained in the room with her.

"Amber, see that she eats. Briggs, watch her. There's something about her I don't trust. I'll be back later to deal with her." The Captain looked at Alyx for a few more moments before leaving the room with a frown on his face.

Alyx lay on the floor, shaking and twitching. It felt like all of her muscles had gone haywire. The girl, Amber, brought over a couple of blankets and wrapped them about her, thinking that she was cold. "If you don't fight him, it's not so bad," she said to Alyx.

"Have to fight. Won't go through that again," Alyx mumbled through the uncontrollable shaking.

Briggs sat on the edge of the raised platform where the Captain's bed was and watched the two girls. There was something about this new one that impressed and frightened him. If she kept up this way, she was not going to survive the trip. "What's your name, girl?"

She raised herself up to glare at the man. "Hope." She turned away and didn't see his quickly hidden reaction.

Amber handed Hope some water, which she gulped at. "It gets easier. They only do that stuff until you cooperate." She stuck a pillow under Alyx's head.

"It's not like that was the first time Ah've been raped," Alyx muttered. "These guys are amateurs."

"Amber, go get her some food." Briggs told the girl, but modified his order when he saw the look on the girl's face. "Some soup."

"Yes sir." Amber stood and shuffled quickly from the room. As soon as she was gone Alyx spoke.

"Your turn now, Ah suppose," Alyx declared, trying to relax while her muscles continued to twitch and shake in reaction.

"No, I won't be the _agent_ of your destruction," Briggs replied.

Alyx let the sentence run through her mind for several minutes before it made sense. If there was any chance this was the undercover agent, she had to grab at it, but she also had to be circumspect about it. Mentally she crossed her fingers. "What color was Morris the cat's hair? Do you remember?"

It took him a moment to understand, then he got it - Agent Morris. The kid was smarter than she looked. "I think it was red or maybe orange," he answered her quietly and watched as she closed her eyes in obvious relief. "We've got to get you off of this boat."

Alyx shook her head. "I'm here for the duration. They want the destination info."

"I have that. The Captain will kill you if you keep resisting," Briggs assured her, moving beside her. He looked at her closely. "You're not cold, are you?"

"No." She thought about the best way to explain without telling him anything. "I'm very sensitive to power, energy. This collar is killing me."

He realized she wasn't shivering; she was twitching in reaction to excess electricity in her system. Like someone who had been lightning stuck or suffered a severe electrical shock. "I can't remove it. Only the Captain or Damon can. It's always active, just in neutral right now. I can't even turn it off for you."

"Can you get a message out or something?" she requested, not expecting anything.

"Not now, but maybe in a couple of days. Think you can hold out that long?" he asked, truly concerned.

"I'll have to, won't I?" She let her eyes close and drifted for a time, allowing the various problems she was encountering to run through her mind looking for solutions. Her first concern was the collar. Why was it she could handle ten thousand volts through an electrified fence, but she couldn't handle the few measly volts running through this collar? The fact that it was always on explained, sort of, why it came on when she tried to do something involving her powers. Why did it feedback to her? Every time she tried to manipulate energy outside herself, it activated the collar by feeding it power. The more she tried to do, the more power she fed the collar and the more painful it became. A nasty little feedback loop. Which meant that unless she wanted to fry her little brain into next week, she was virtually powerless. This was not her idea of fun.

***

"What do you mean you don't know?" Hobbes snapped at Lieutenant Farrell as they stood on the deck of the cutter.

"Exactly what I said. We don't know where they have gone. And with the hurricane moving in we can't even guess," Farrell repeated to the very angry agent. Even so, he realized that the man in front of him would be easier to deal with than his partner. Darien was pacing the deck like a wild animal, having once again threatened to throw Agent Morris overboard. "If we stay out here we'll get caught in Amanda, and then what good will we be to your friend?"

"Yeah, I know, but we both got a real bad feeling about this," Hobbes argued, rubbing the top of his head with a hand.

"She's doing her job, right?" Farrell asked of Bobby.

"Right," Bobby replied reluctantly.

"Let her do it. She doesn't need a baby-sitter." Farrell looked out over the water. "Within a few hours, if they don't turn back, no one is going to be able to help them, anyway. Including us."

Bobby watched Farrell head back to the bridge of the cutter and then went to join his wayward partner. "You cool down yet?"

"I guess so," Darien muttered, leaning on the rail. "This was a dumb idea, Hobbes. I can't believe the Official approved it."

"He didn't. I spoke to him an hour ago. He had no idea the plan was to send her undercover and he wants us to get her back, whatever it takes," Hobbes announced, so that only Darien would hear.

"Thompson and Morris said it had been approved," Darien snarled. He had that awful feeling of being used yet again, and he was getting damned tired of it.

"Well, yeah, but not by our boss," Hobbes growled.

"So now what?"

"I think it's time I had a little talk with Agent Morris," Hobbes suggested, spotting the red-headed agent as he came out of a door. "Stay here, Fawkes. I want the guy to talk, not swim."

Darien managed a dry chuckle at the comment. "Sure, but I still think he deserves to swim home."

"Can't say I disagree." He gave Darien a friendly pat on the back and went after Morris.

Darien returned to staring out over the water. The hurricane was still eighteen hours from making landfall, the slaver ship had an eight-hour head start on them, and Farrell wanted to turn back. Well, that wasn't going to happen if he had any say in the matter.

He couldn't believe how he and Alyx had been behaving towards each other. He'd been acting like a possessive jerk, and it had taken several discussions with Hobbes and one with Claire before it had sunk in completely. Claire had also told him a few things about Alyx he hadn't known. Like the reason she'd been having panic attacks, the reason she hadn't wanted to do that particular job that left her and Garrett stuck in a forest fire. The reason she'd been so confusing lately. Okay, so Claire wouldn't tell him exactly why, but she gave him a place to start. That, combined with information he already had, gave him a good idea of what was going on in that pretty, frustrating little head of hers.

If...when...he saw her again, he planned on apologizing.

Darien turned at the sound of shouting. He saw that his partner had backed Morris up against the railing and was on the verge of dumping him over. Darien strolled over casually and leaned over the side at the water rushing below. "Need help, Hobbes?"

"Fawkes, I'm beginning to think you were right. I think maybe he should swim home," Hobbes growled, grabbing Morris by the lapels of his jacket and tipping him further over the rail.

"And why is that?" Darien asked, keeping his tone casual.

"Why don't you tell him, Morris? I'm sure my partner would love to hear this from you." Hobbes gave him another threatening shove at the rail.

"He'll kill me," Morris squeaked.

"I might anyway," Hobbes informed him. "Talk."

"Special Agent Miller told me about Fawkes' abilities when I mentioned this case. He suggested that Miss Silver might have the same talents without the limitations." Morris got out as quickly as he could.

"So he doesn't know about her?" Darien asked, his voice sounding dangerous.

"Not really. He thinks she has skills similar to yours. He wanted me to find out," he explained, glaring up at Darien. "Look, if she cooperates with them she'll be fine."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Darien shouted, seriously debating doing something far more painful than throwing the guy in the water.

"I told you we picked up two girls," Morris began.

"You said you _recovered_ two girls," Hobbes corrected, not liking where this was heading.

"Ummm, yeah. The slavers... they use control collars on the girls. Electric shocks, among other things," Morris filled in, his voice quiet, suddenly unable to meet their eyes.

"Spill. Or I will." Hobbes pushed him halfway over.

"They break the girls in using rape and torture. Of the two girls we recovered, one was dead and the other died shortly thereafter. We think they resisted and the slavers disposed of them," he babbled fearfully. "Now put me down!"

Hobbes let go of him and stepped back, giving Darien the opportunity to tear into the man. "You put her in danger, just to find out if she could do what I do?"

"It seemed to be justified. A good test of her skills." Morris argued, sounding more confident by the minute.

"Idiot," Darien muttered, making it sound more like a curse than a mere commentary on Morris' intelligence. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed the Keep. "Hey, Claire."

"_Darien, is everything all right_?" Claire asked concern in her voice.

"I'm fine. We may have a problem with Alyx. If the boss is in you may want to conference this," Darien suggested. Morris tried to slither away from them and, without taking his attention from the phone, Darien reached out and planted a hand on the man's chest, shoving him back against the rail hard enough to make him squeak in surprise and no little fear.

Bobby moved closer, keeping the little redheaded weasel from moving.

"_All right, Darien_," Claire said. "_Eberts and the Official are on the line_."

"Agent Morris has just informed us that Alyx is in the hands of some seriously nasty characters who, among other things, use rape and torture to control their prizes." Darien watched for Morris' reaction, which was to go pale and swallow hard. "They also make the girls wear shock collars to control them."

"_Shock collars. How powerful_?" Claire questioned.

Darien shifted the phone and asked Morris, "What are the specs on the collars?"

Morris shook his head.

"My partner asked you a question," Bobby barked, once again threatening to toss him over into the water.

"It's variable, max about the same as a standard cattle prod," Morris blurted out. He nearly sobbed with relief when Bobby backed off a bit and let him stand again.

"Did you get that, Claire?" Darien said into the phone.

"Yes, Darien. You may have an even bigger problem than you think," she said.

It took 20 minutes, and several more proddings for answers from Morris, but she got the basics across to Darien. Then the Official went to work.

"Why do I have the feeling that the news from the Keep was not good?" Hobbes observed, seeing the look on Darien's face as he hung up the phone.

"'Not good' would be a vast improvement," Darien moaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "The Official is currently calling God himself to get us control of this tub so that we can go get her. Hurricane or no hurricane." Darien turned to Morris. "If you're lucky, you might still have a job in an hour. Now go hide and try to cover your ass with your boss."

Morris moved away from the partners, both of whom were glaring at him. When he was well out of speaking range, Darien turned back to Hobbes. "Ignoring for the moment what rape in general does to the average woman, it's the collar Claire is worried about."

"Now wait, why would the kid have a problem with a shock collar? I've seen her control electric fences that could kill a man with one touch," Hobbes pointed out, moving to stand next to Darien.

Darien thought for a moment about how to explain something to Bobby that didn't even quite make sense to him. "Remember when you were checking her transmitter at the van, and it didn't work right until she did whatever it is she does?"

"Yeah, the signal went from flaky to perfect. So?" Hobbes said.

"According to Claire, when Alyx is in direct contact with electronics, she affects them unconsciously. It's also how she sometimes gets info from touch. Like closing a circuit." Darien paused to make sure Hobbes was keeping up.

He was. "So, because the collar is against her skin, if she tries to do anything she's going to activate it," Hobbes guessed, adding things up in his mind.

"And the more she tries to do..." Darien started.

"The more it shocks her. This is bad, partner."

"Isn't it always?"


	4. Storm Warnings

***

Alyx wasn't sure how long she slept, but she woke when the Captain came back into the room. While she felt somewhat better, she knew she was actually no better off. She could feel by the roll of the ship that the seas were much heavier. If this idiot knew what he was doing he was trying to hit the northern edge of the storm and hopefully make it around. Of course, he should have simply stayed in port and waited it out there, but he obviously had been unable or unwilling to do that.

As she watched, he stripped off his shirt and tossed it in a basket across the room. He had an impressive physique, covered with a striking array of scars. She wondered how many of those were from the fingernails of young girls he had broken.

"Weathah gettin' a bit rough?" Alyx asked him, her throat a bit sore.

"Brave little thing aren't you?" he commented as he got something out of a trunk.

"Take off this collah and you'll get to see exactly what Ah'm capable of." She shifted sitting up. She only had about eight inches of chain between the desk and her ankle.

"I'll just bet. You can drop the accent and the innocent teen routine. I've made a some inquiries about you, and it seems there are a few," He paused to choose the just the right word, "agencies that would love to see _exactly_ what you're capable of." He turned around and she saw that he held a set of hand shackles on a long chain. He casually tossed them over a hook hanging from the ceiling. "The bidding for you is going fast and furious, and doubles if I deliver you complacent and willing to cooperate." He held up the collar control so she could see it. "I'm going to enjoy breaking you."

"I think you'll find I don't break easy," Alyx stated, getting to her feet.

"Easily enough." He moved to within a couple of feet of her and turned on the collar.

Alyx managed not to go to her knees, but only by leaning on the desk. "And?" she hissed through clenched teeth.

He simply turned up the power slowly until she was on the floor, moaning in pain. He kept the power setting where it was and, after tossing the control on the bed, went over to Alyx and picked her up. With little effort he carried her over to the shackles and swiftly locked her wrists in them. A few adjustments to the length left her hanging with her toes barely touching on the floor. Sitting on the bed, he turned off the collar and she collapsed in relief.

"Find that amusing, huh?" Alyx growled at him when she finally caught her breath. She wished she could see him, but he sat somewhere behind her and, no matter what she might say, she currently didn't have the strength to even turn around. She hung in the shackles overhead, her shoulders aching with strain. She could feel the cuffs cutting into her wrists. Not drawing blood yet, but she knew they soon would.

"Rule number one: No talking." He turned the collar back on and counted to 20 slowly. When he shut it off, she sagged in the cuffs for a moment, then got her feet under her.

"I don't do rules," Alyx voiced.

He turned the collar on again.

It took a half an hour of this - him turning on the collar, and her challenging him - before she even allowed herself to realize she was going to lose this fight. She was covered in sweat, panting for air, and fighting muscle spasms, but this time she didn't speak, didn't even allow herself to whimper in pain. She knew it was no longer sweat running down her arms, it was blood. She had managed to rub her wrists raw along the way. When she hadn't moved for several minutes she heard him get up off the bed and circle around in front of her.

"You are very stubborn, girl." He grabbed a handful of hair and lifted her head up so that she could see his face. "It's time for your next lesson." Releasing her head, which she let fall forward, not yet having the strength to hold it up, he unzipped the jumpsuit she wore and spent a few moments admiring the flesh revealed beneath. When he touched her the first time she reacted with a shudder of disgust. He didn't seem to even notice. Either that, or he expected it.

Alyx had had enough. She lashed out with a kick that just missed hitting him in the groin and caught him in the upper thigh as he shifted away from her. He reacted by punching her in the side of the head and cursing at her. He then turned the collar back on and smiled when she arched back in pain. He left it on to respond the knock on the door of his cabin. Briggs entered.

"Sir, we may have a problem," Briggs said.

"What is it? I'm busy here."

Briggs looked from the Captain to Alyx and back. "Yes, sir, but we have a Coast Guard cutter ordering our return to port because of the storm," he answered. "They refuse to speak to anyone but you."

"Odd." The Captain thought for a moment then dug a clean shirt out and put it on. "Watch her. I'll be back shortly."

As soon as he was sure the Captain was gone, Briggs turned off the collar and went to her. He zipped the jumpsuit up and lifted her enough to release the pressure on her arms.

"Thank you," she whispered to him. "Unlock me, please."

"Yeah, can you stand?" He lowered her to her feet.

She nodded. Reaching up, he unlocked the cuffs and she lowered her arms to her sides. She stood looking at him, swaying slightly. "What's happening?"

"One of the high speed cutters is after us. Ordering us to turn back to port." He helped her to sit on the edge of the bed. "You going to make it?"

"If the cutter doesn't stop this boat, please kill me. I won't go through this again." Alyx leaned back on the bed, trying to relax for a moment.

"Don't say that," Briggs argued very quietly to her. "Why did they send someone so young anyway?"

"I'm older than I look," Alyx replied as clearly as she could. The more she relaxed, the more everything began to twitch and spasm.

"So who do you work for that they sent you for me?" Briggs asked out of curiosity, hoping to distract her from her discomfort.

She opened her eyes and looked at him. "They thought you were dead. I came in expecting no help."

"But you used the code phrase: Hope." Briggs checked her wrists and decided that they could use bandaging.

"Dumb luck. Thought up the name on the fly," Alyx answered him. The movement of the ship changed, becoming more violent, and the engine sound became deeper as if it were working harder. Briggs quickly cleaned the scrapes on her wrists and wrapped them in clean bandages. During the few minutes it took the ship began move with a violent up and down rocking motion.

"The idiot has turned into the storm instead of going around," Briggs observed, standing. "I have to lock you back up, for now. I'll try to get back to you later."

Alyx got to her feet and with his help walked over to the desk where he reattached the shackle to her ankle. "Go." She waved at him. "I'll be fine."

He hesitated for one moment more and then, with a nod to her, left for parts unknown.

Alyx got herself into a lotus position and did what she should have done in the first place, had she been thinking, that is. Putting herself in a nice, comfortable trance state, she set about convincing her body it was not nearly as abused as it believed it was. Once she was calm and centered, she began methodically testing how little she could do without setting off the damn collar. Inside herself, anything she wanted she could do. Outside, however, anything beyond a few inches from her skin set off the collar. Anything done directly to the collar, activated the collar. Okay, that established, she went to option two: override the pain with a little mental pain block. Oh, it would still hurt like hell, but she'd be able to ignore it and maybe accomplish a few things when the time was right.

She only hoped the time would be right soon.

***

"They found them," Hobbes crowed, his relief evident. "Farrell thinks we're nuts, but he has the ship going after them at top speed."

"How long?" Darien questioned, looking out the window at the quickly darkening sky.

"Couple of hours, give or take. Hope you have a strong stomach. The weather is going to get really bad from here on out," Bobby said as lightning flashed across the sky. "Going to be dark soon as well."

"Bobby, stop trying to cheer me up," Darien muttered.

"How about this: Morris has been thrown in the brig pending an investigation." He seemed very pleased with the outcome.

"Can we make him walk the plank?" Darien asked with an evil smile.

"Now why didn't I think of that?" Hobbes wondered, echoing his partners grin. "He may wish we had by the time the Official is done with him."

It was a long, uncomfortable two hours. Darien couldn't help but be impressed by the storm. California rarely saw anything like this. Hundred mile per hour winds, pouring rain, nearly constant lightning, and waves even the craziest surfer wouldn't dare go near. The boat was racing up and down hills, mountains, of water as they fought their way closer to the slaver's ship. A good portion of the crew were looking a little green, and several were out of it completely. Everyone was stuffed into life jackets and rain slickers.

"Sir, we have them on radar," one of the petty officers on the bridge said.

"Radio contact?" the Captain asked.

"Yes sir, but they are refusing to turn about."

"Pull alongside and let's see if we can't encourage them to cooperate," the Captain ordered.

"Yes, sir."

"Is this good or bad, Hobbes?" Darien queried his partner, not knowing much about how things were done on the seven seas.

"Depends on how hard they try to run," Bobby answered.

They found out the answer to that within minutes.

"Sir, they are sending a mayday. Their engines have failed and they are floundering," announced the communications officer.

"Pull in closer. Let's see if we can help." The Captain turned to Darien and Bobby. "Looks like the two of you are in luck."

***

Alyx opened her eyes when the engines started sounding wrong. The boat, instead of forcing its way reasonably smoothly through the rough waves, now floundered, no longer hitting the waves nose first. The boat had developed a bit of a side-to-side roll, which was _not_ a good thing. While the engines continued to rattle on, they weren't apparently doing much in the way of controlling the ship. When the door opened and Briggs rushed in, she had good idea what had happened to the engines.

"Kid, the Coast Guard is on the way." He came over and knelt down beside her, pulling out a set of keys from his pocket. Thumbing through them, he tried a couple with no luck. "Shit, the Cap must have the only key to this one."

"Go help the other girls, make sure they get off the ship." She gave him a shove, having a bad feeling that the Captain would leave them behind to save his own skin. "Go. I'll be fine."

"You're sure?" he asked looking concerned.

"Yes, go. Make sure those girls get home," Alyx ordered, shooing him away.

Once he was gone she tried to break the lock of the shackle with her mind, only to succumb to the pain fairly quickly. She then tried a quick burst of energy to shatter the chain. A few minutes later she found herself waking up on the floor, having caused herself to pass out from the resulting strong, sudden shock. With a curse, she sat up and pulled at the desk to no avail. The feet were set in frames that were part of the deck to keep it from moving. Lifting the desk wouldn't help; the ring the shackle was attached to was part of the desk's structure.

She could hear the engine of the Coast Guard ship as it drew alongside the slaver ship. Within minutes, the sounds of gunshots and yells could be heard. She could only hope Briggs would get a chance to come back for her.

***

Darien and Hobbes waited impatiently for the cutter to pull alongside the slaver ship. Even though someone on the ship had called for help, they didn't expect the crew to submit to being rescued quietly, especially with kidnapped children on board. In fact, there was some concern that the slavers would try and kill the girls before they could be rescued. Although it wasn't commonly done - most problems at sea rarely involved gunfire - the Captain ordered that all those going on board the slaver ship go armed. Good thing too, because as soon as they tried to tie up to the other ship, the slaver crew opened fire.

Bobby Hobbes led the boarding party, clearing the way to get his partner on board and below deck. They ran into some resistance on the way down, which they handled. Further in, they ended up stuck, facing a group of about five slavers who had created a blockade and were firing from behind it.

Hobbes turned to his partner, "Think you can break this stalemate before both ships sink?"

Before Darien got a chance to answer, shots and shouts - female shouts - resounded from the far side of the barricade. Sticking their heads around the corner, the agents saw one man leading a group of a dozen girls in a furious attack on the slavers from the rear. Bobby and his group waded in to help, and within minutes the slavers were dealt with one way or another. No one was pulling their punches with these guys, including Darien. When the Coast Guard crew began stripping off their lifejackets for the girls, Bobby and Darien followed suit.

Bobby grabbed one of the girls, a blonde who had been especially vicious to one of the slavers during the fight. "Have you seen a red-head with silver eyes?"

It was the guy who had been with them that answered. "She's chained in the Captain's cabin."

"Where?" Darien barked.

Briggs pointed. "That way, down one level. Be careful, the Captain is still loose."

"Bobby?" Darien looked to his partner.

"Go. Find her," Bobby insisted.

Darien ran down the hallway and down the next flight of steps. When he got to the bottom, he heard voices and Quicksilvered. He rarely carried a weapon. It seemed they still didn't trust someone who went off his rocker on occasion. He ran into two men who were arguing. One limped on a heavily taped knee.

"Leave her. She's worth nothing now," the injured one said.

"No. She's worth our freedom." The second poked the injured one in the chest. "A bargaining piece."

"Captain, she's too dangerous." The first turned away, limping towards where Darien stood.

Darien had the bad feeling that they were talking about Alyx. He slipped past the injured man and went after the Captain. When he stopped outside a particular door and opened it, Darien grabbed him, spun him about and punched him in the face. The guy didn't go down, but looked around bewildered for a moment. Through what had to have been luck the guy swung and connected with Darien's shoulder shoving him into the wall.

The guy pulled out a knife - a rather large, very sharp knife - and started swinging it at where he thought Darien to be. Darien dodged and ducked, but yelped when the knife sliced through his pants leaving a thin trail of blood.

"Show yourself," the Captain growled.

With a little effort, Darien managed to work his way behind him and then spoke. "I don't think so." He got one arm around the Captains neck and used the other to fight off the hand with the knife when it came back at him. They struggled for several minutes, and it ended only when the entire boat shifted unexpectedly and threw the two of them on the floor. Darien ended up on the bottom, but the knife ended up in the Captain's chest, who, thankfully, died almost instantly

Darien rolled the body off of himself, trying unsuccessfully not to be squeamish about the blood all over him. Dropping the Quicksilver, he hurried to the door the Captain had been opening and went in.

***

Alyx tried again and again to free herself, with little success. She didn't want to make herself black out again, not when she might still be rescued, and she needed to save the pain block for the last possible moment. She even pulled everything she could reach off the desk and tried to pick the damn lock the traditional way, but with no luck.

She heard the Captain and the first mate arguing over her in the hallway. She should have known the Captain would not abandon her when he could still get something out of her. The first mate's voice disappeared; for a moment she wondered if the Captain had killed him, but doubted it. The sounds of a fight surprised her, and it seemed forever before it ended. The ship was shifting dangerously now; no one was steering any longer from the feel of it. The rumble of the cutter's engine was fading fast. She debated hiding, when the door to the room opened.

***

"You can't, they're still on board!" Hobbes screamed at the Captain of the Coast Guard cutter as he watched the crew cut the ropes tying them to the slaver ship.

"I have no choice. We're near the eye wall. If I don't cut that ship loose, it will drag us down with it when it goes." The Captain's tone softened. "Look, we have 10 prisoners, 12 girls, a missing agent, all of my crew. Do you really want me to risk staying for two people even you claim can take care of themselves?"

"No," Hobbes admitted reluctantly. Sometimes, even though he didn't want to, he was forced to let his partners fight their own battles.

"Look, we're going to head for the eye to make sure we're in one piece. We can wait there for a time. Maybe they'll make it." The Captain set a hand on the smaller man's shoulder.

"Oh, they'll make it or I'll kill them both," Bobby declared.

As he watched, the cutter pulled away from the slaver ship. Just in time, too; the next wave that came along hit the slaver ship broadside and, as they all watched in horror, capsized the ship.

"Ah, crap," Bobby muttered.


	5. Riding out the Storm

***

Alyx came to, choking on seawater. Everything in the room was wrong, and it took her a moment to realize that it was upside down. Her head hurt and she was afraid she might have broken her ankle. She was still shackled to the table, only it was now on top of her legs. The water wasn't very deep yet, but was sure to start rising soon. Looking around, she saw someone floating in the water nearby. It only took a moment to realize it was Darien. And he wasn't moving.

She wiped her hand across her forehead to get the water out of her eyes only to have her hand come away covered in blood. No wonder her head hurt. "Darien!" she shouted at him. "Darien, damn it, wake up."

She tried to reach him and couldn't. Tried to push the desk off and found she couldn't do that either, not without any leverage. Grimacing against the pain she knew was to come, she activated the pain block she had created earlier and then used her abilities to move the table off her legs. The pain was immediate, but it was distant, happening to someone else. She shifted the table just enough to free herself. It's amazing what a little adrenaline in one's system can do. She collapsed, ending up back under the water for a moment, and came up coughing.

"Darien, please, damn it!" she pleaded. She dragged the table the couple of feet necessary to reach him and rolled him onto his back. He was bleeding on the right side of his head and had something sticking out of his shoulder, but she ignored both injuries for the time being. Checking at his throat she found a pulse, but he wasn't breathing. Shifting the best she could to relieve the strain on her ankle she began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. It seemed to take forever, but he eventually began to cough and then vomited up the seawater that had invaded his lungs, but he still wasn't conscious.

Alyx shifted him so that his head rested on her shoulder. The water was getting deeper; eventually it would get too deep and she would be out of options. "C'mon, Darien, I can't do this alone, not this time." This was not what she needed, not what she wanted to deal with, not what she wanted to face. Not so soon after Max. She wasn't going to go through this again. "Darien, I'm not going to lose you too."

She rested her head against his and opened her shields. Touching his mind with hers, as gently as she could afford to, she woke him. It wasn't gently enough. He reacted by swinging his uninjured arm back, shoving her under the water yet again while he got to his feet. Alyx came up sputtering, slamming her shields shut and cutting off the connection. As usual, she'd gotten more of him than she had intended to.

The water was already up to his thighs and he was looking around in confusion.

"S...s...sorry," she stuttered. "But I couldn't let you sleep any longer."

"Alyx." He fell to his knees next to her.

"Did they get the kids off the boat?" Alyx asked him, shaking in the water. She might not have been feeling the pain, but her body was still reacting to it as if she did.

"Yeah, they're all safe. I'd like us to be too," Darien professed, trying to help her to stand.

She shook her head. "I'm shackled to the table."

"So bust the lock, or whatever it is you do," Darien suggested.

"You think I haven't tried? This damn collar sets up a feedback loop when I use my powers. I keep passing out before I get the damn thing open." She tugged on the collar and he saw the burns about her neck.

"Crap. Alyx you're a mess," he informed her needlessly as he was certain she was well aware of her current condition. He felt about underwater for the shackle about her ankle.

"Like you're any better? Doesn't your shoulder hurt?" she asked him, trying not to flinch when he moved her foot.

"Not as much as my head. What the hell happened?" He found the locking mechanism and fumbled in his pockets for his lock picks.

"The storm. The boat capsized. What the hell are you doing here anyway?" she requested or him while trying to keep her head above the water that was swiftly getting deeper.

"We came to get you, what else?" His hands came up. "I can't do it. Not by feel alone." He was having trouble concentrating with his head hurting so damn much. He helped her to stand.

"Can you get this damn collar off?" She twisted it around to show him the clasp and he examined it carefully.

"Not with what I have here."

"Then go. Get out. You don't need to play hero," Alyx ordered, shifting to find a better, less painful position to stand in.

"What are you saying?" He reached out to help steady her but she flung his arm away.

"I'm saying get the hell out! I give this tub 10 minutes before it's at the bottom. I don't want you on it when it goes," Alyx yelled at him.

"I'm not leaving you here." Darien went to her and this time didn't let her pull away.

"You have no choice." She reached up and shoved on the piece of metal sticking out of his shoulder, making him scream in pain.

"He didn't leave you behind and neither will I!" Darien shouted at her.

The boat shifted and Alyx found herself underwater again. She ended up gulping a mouthful before Darien hauled her back up.

When she could breathe again, she hissed, "This is over Max? Have you completely lost it?"

"Yes...no...shit, Alyx, what did he have that I don't?" He was still holding her up, but every time the boat shifted, she got dunked yet again.

"Why, Darien? Can't deal with the fact that I found someone who didn't care who or what I was, and liked me anyway? Who was willing to trust me? Who I wasn't afraid to trust? Who didn't try to use me to his own advantage?" Alyx shouted right back at him. "You tell me why!"

She pulled out of his grip and ended up underwater. When she came back up she realized she was at the end of the shackle length. "Some days I hate being short," she complained bitterly.

"Alyx..." Darien didn't know what to say. He could understand the way she felt. Being able to trust someone without having to worry about ulterior motives was a rare thing, even before he joined the Agency. And since...well, he trusted Hobbes to do the right thing and he trusted the Keeper to keep him sane and he trusted Alyx. And that was about it. There had been Kate Easton, but they were separated by time and distance now. He'd been betrayed over and over by Allianora. It was Alyx he had trusted, instinctively, since the first day they had been unwillingly shoved together. And no matter how he had tried to ignore, resist, deny, it was Alyx that he wanted. He wasn't going to let her get away now.

"If you stay, I stay."

"Darien, please. Go," she entreated quietly. "Don't you get it yet? It was never a competition between you and Max. He simply opened the door. But you made it possible. I just wanted a chance to have something for myself for a little while. Something the Agency wouldn't scrutinize or control." She dunked under to relieve the pressure on her foot for a moment. "Damn it, Darien, you're jealous of a dead man who never had a chance to capture more than the smallest portion of me, because you already had it all." Before she could regret what she had just said to Darien, she muttered. "Gods, this is going to hurt."

Summoning every ounce of her mental powers, along with the added energy of desperation, she focussed on the chain connecting her to the sunken table one last time. She could feel the pain, but she ignored it and what it was doing to her until she finally felt the metal shatter.

Darien had rushed to her and hauled her out of the water when she went under without realizing it. When her foot was finally freed, she refocused the power she'd summoned upward, blasting a route for them out of the capsized vessel. Only when the howling of the wind and the pouring rain of the storm outside could be felt, only then did she stop.

When she collapsed in his arms, her voice gone raw from screaming, the water about the two of them hot from the excess energy the feedback loop had caused, Darien's mind finally registered what she had said.

"Can we go home now, please?" she requested plaintively, not really feeling all that well at the moment. All of her muscles were aching and twitching, and she knew this wasn't over yet.

Darien looked up through the rather impressive hole she'd made in the bottom of the boat. There was another deck above them before open air. Reaching up, he grasped the edge of the hole and pulled himself through to sit on the edge. "C'mon, you," he said, pulling Alyx up after him.

She lay on the dry former ceiling for a moment, glad to be out of the water finally. She was still wearing the dark blue jumpsuit the slavers had shoved her in days ago. Pulling up the pant leg, she took a look at her ankle, which was swollen tight against the cuff. "Can you get it off now?"

"Yeah, give me a sec." He knelt down and had her free in seconds. The lock was simple now that he could see what he was doing.

She hissed in pain when he removed it and threw it away from them. Water was pouring in from above and was quickly joined by that flowing up through the hole they had just climbed through. Alyx got to her feet. "We're screwed."

"Not yet. Up ya go." He gave her help climbing to the outside, where she was nearly washed off the inverted ship by a wave that scared the hell out of her.

"Darien, stay there for a sec," she shouted over the wind. She knew if she didn't protect the boat, somehow, they wouldn't last more than a minute or two out here. She saw the next wave in a flash of lighting and, throwing caution to the wind, she reached out and put a wall around the ship. Their only chance at safety. The wave broke over them, but didn't touch them. She ended up on her back, pulling at the collar to get it away from the skin. She could feel it trying to burn, but kept up the little protection she was able to provide.

Darien knew something had happened as soon as the rain stopped falling in through the hole. The water was knee deep already on this deck. The boat was sinking far faster than rescue would ever show. And that was if the Coast Guard ship was even still out there, waiting for them.

With an easy leap, he pulled himself up through the opening into an island of calm. Around him, the sea tossed and churned, but it affected the boat only indirectly. The wind came through as stray breezes, and not the tempest he knew to be out there. Staying low, he crawled over to where Alyx lay moaning on the hull. It wasn't hard to figure out why they were relatively safe.

He went to her and tried to get her into a more comfortable position. He wished he could get that damn collar off her. "Alyx, stop."

"Can't," she choked out. The mental block was beginning to fade from overuse and the pain was creeping back in. "We'd be dead in minutes."

"If you don't, you will be anyway," Darien announced.

She shook her head.

"Stubborn." He looked about them. "Wish we had a flare."

"Flare?" She sat up a bit wincing. "That I can do." Reaching out to the clouds above them, she triggered a lightning flash right overhead, which lit the area about them like daylight for an instant. "Ouch."

"Neat trick. Won't do you any good if you kill yourself to get us a rescue," Darien muttered.

"At least one of us would get rescued." For the next several eternities they said nothing. Alyx kept the water from swamping the boat completely and forced herself to remain conscious. Darien watched, hoping for the rescue they desperately needed.

After a while, Alyx began losing her hold and the wind and rain began to get back in. Their island became smaller and smaller, the water coming closer and closer to where they were.

When the wind suddenly died, therefore, he was surprised. Looking up, he saw stars. They had reached the eye of the storm by some miracle. "Alyx, look."

She did, and dropped some of the protections she'd been holding about them. She was the only thing keeping the boat afloat. "This won't last."

Some days luck is the only thing between one and certain doom, but some days it's a very stubborn partner who provides the luck.

Darien thought he saw something off to their right, but couldn't be sure. "Alyx, can you manage another flare?"

She nodded. Instead of pulling lightning from the clouds, she simply let off one of her own. A bright flash of light, straight up from her hands. It hurt, but she was almost beyond feeling the pain anymore and didn't even flinch in reaction.

Within minutes, rescue arrived.

***

"Ten more minutes," Bobby argued with the Captain yet again, but this time he was cheating. Several of the girls and Agent Briggs were also asking the same thing.

"I told you we couldn't stay long. The hurricane is getting stronger; if we don't make a run for it soon, we'll be riding this thing right into shore. Personally, that is something I'd rather not do," he informed the group. "I'm sorry, but the boat capsized and they had no lifejackets. The chances that they survived are slim and none."

Bobby was looking out the window. The weather was calm in comparison to the fury of the storm itself, though the ship still had to fight it's way up and down the huge swells churned up by the winds outside the eye wall. They had the spotlight searching the waters and acting as a guide light on the off chance his partners had made it through. A flash of lightning off to the left caught his eye. It was exceptionally impressive and lit the entire area like day.

"Cap, head that way would you?" Bobby requested, sounding distracted.

"Agent Hobbes, I..."

"Just do it! I thought I saw something," Bobby insisted. With a nod from the Captain, the cutter headed in the direction of the lightning

After several long minutes another flash went off, this one obviously going straight up from the ocean. It was also obviously well within the eye, where no clouds could have caused it.

"Holy shit! They did it," Bobby crowed, his voice both hushed and pleased.

"Looks that way," the Captain agreed. "They're damn lucky."

"No luck, Captain. They don't believe in it anymore."

***

Bobby made sure he was on deck when his two wayward partners were brought on board.

Alyx would never really remember much of the next few hours. Darien would never forget them. When the Coast Guard cutter pulled alongside the overturned slaver ship, no one was more surprised than the Captain to find Alyx and Darien alive. Bobby expected it.

"Took you long enough, partner," Bobby complained to Darien once he was on board.

"Next time I'll make sure to get on a boat that's not sinking, okay?" Darien quipped back.

"See that you do," Bobby mock-ordered, relieved to have both his partners back.

"Let's get you down below," one of the Seamen said.

Darien got them to cut the collar off of Alyx, who was pretty much out of it. When they went to bandage her ankle, she nearly took off the poor medi-tech's head when she reacted to the pain. Darien's voice managed to calm her down enough for them to finish bandaging up her various injuries. Darien gave Bobby a quick run down of what had happened while he had himself patched up. His shoulder had a nifty puncture wound and his head a gash and goose egg that had the medi-tech a bit concerned. There wasn't much they could do about it now, though.

The only large room down below, the mess hall, had been taken over by the rescued girls from the slaver's ship. A couple of Seamen were keeping them calm and handing out coffee and sandwiches. Several of the girls got up and went to Alyx as she was carried in semi-conscious, followed by a tired Darien and mother-hen Hobbes.

The girls helped Alyx get as comfortable as possible, making sure she was well bundled up in blankets. Alyx looked up at her two partners, rather bleary-eyed but awake.

The medi-tech spoke to both Darien and Hobbes. "She's real shocky, and the two of you may both have concussions. Try and stay awake if you can. I'll check on you in a little while. The ride's going to get bumpy again soon. We still have to get out of this storm." He left them alone, in a room full of a dozen young girls.

One of the girls came over. "Are you guys friends of Hope?"

"Yeah, kid. We are," Bobby replied.

"Good, cause the Captain was real nasty to her. Gave her his 'special attention'. Lucky she's as tough as she is," the girl said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Darien asked her.

"See the tattoo on her hand?" She pointed to Alyx who was trying to drink some tea that had been given to her. The tattoo on the back of her right hand was quite visible. "It means she already had a buyer. The captain was supposed to break her in during the trip over."

"How do you know this, kid?" Bobby questioned.

"I've been on that ship for a year. The captain bought me for his own use. See?" She held up her hand showing the tattoo she wore. It was different from the one Alyx had. "That's the Cap's sigil. Hope was going to some bigwig sheik in the Middle East. Seen a couple others go there. He likes them unique-looking, and she definitely has that going for her." She looked up at the two men. "I want to thank you, for all of us. At least I know there will be no others." She turned and joined the other girls who were sitting together in one corner of the room.

"I don't know whether to feel sick or relieved," Darien groused, walking further into the room as the ship dipped and rocked beneath his feet.

"We stopped them. They can't hurt anyone else. That counts for something doesn't it?" Alyx commented to them as they came near. With a groan Darien sat down next to her.

"Of course it counts, kid. It just doesn't feel like it was enough, does it?" Bobby pointed out with uncommon sharpness.

"Never," she answered quietly.

"Welcome to the real world, kid," he pronounced. "Good work. Now get some rest. You don't think the boss is going to pay overtime do you?"

Alyx managed a chuckle at that, even though it hurt.

"I'm heading topside. They're going to need all the help they can get." He wagged a finger at the two of them. "Behave."

"Yes, sir," Darien replied with a smile.

By the time Bobby reached the doorway, Darien had an arm wrapped around Alyx and she had tipped over against him. Hobbes shook his head, deciding against a lecture right now. Let them have today to figure out where they stood with each other. Tomorrow he'd remind them that office romances were a no-no. Fishing off the company pier and all that. Shame, though. They complemented each other rather well, when they weren't trying to bite each other's heads off, that is. Bobby headed for the bridge to see what he could do to help.

"Gods, can't we have a mission end simply?" Alyx complained, fighting gravity to keep her eyes open.

"Apparently not." Darien pulled her closer and rested his chin on the top of her head. "This was supposed to be simple, remember?"

"It was till they put that damn collar on me. Nasty thing," she mumbled most of this. "I thought I was tired before this started. Now I'm tired and in pain. Again." Alyx gave in to gravity and tipped over completely, resting her head on Darien's thigh. "Dare?"

"Hmmm?" He was well on his way to unconsciousness himself. "What?"

"I never meant to hurt you. I didn't realize you cared so much. Or I wouldn't have..." Darien didn't let her finish.

"Shush. I've been an idiot." He rested one hand on her shoulder and she grasped it in her hand, entwining their fingers. "'Sides, you can always make it up to me later."

"I'll think about it," she mumbled as she drifted off into sleep.

"Not for too long, I hope," Darien whispered, watching her. It wasn't long before he, too, was asleep.

***

It was three days before they were back on dry land, another one before they were back home in San Diego, and Alyx pretty much slept through the whole thing. Although Darien's injuries had been worse, including a mild concussion, Alyx had been at the end of her strength and the feedback from the collar had done some damage to her nervous system, which took time to heal. Claire had put her in Lab Three, to better monitor her condition. Darien practically lived there himself for a day while the Keep made sure his head was still working the way it should.

Claire was changing the bandages on Darien's shoulder when Alyx finally woke up.

"Claire," Darien murmured. When she looked up at him, he nodded his head towards Alyx who was blinking blearily at the world around her.

"Welcome back," Claire said as she moved to Alyx's side.

"Please tell me my head should still hurt," Alyx whimpered.

"Probably. Based on the energy output from that collar, I'm surprised you have a functioning brain cell left," Claire answered with a smile. "Any normal person would be dead."

"Any normal person wouldn't have had the problem." Alyx sat the rest of the way up, feeling better by the second. She pulled the I.V. needle out of her arm, much to the dismay of the good doctor. "I'm going home." She got out of the bed wearing one of those horrid hospital gowns. "My clothes, and don't tell me someone didn't fetch some."

Darien finished putting on his shirt, then handed Alyx her backpack. He'd stuffed some of her things into it at Claire's request. He'd found it very strange going through her closet and picking her clothes. He had to admit, though, some of the items he'd seen he wouldn't mind taking the time to try and get her out of. Many of them would cover very little of her, anyway. Without a trace of embarrassment, Alyx began to untie the gown and dress. Claire hurriedly ushered Darien out of the room.

Alyx came out a few minutes later, wearing the jeans and t-shirt Darien had provided. "I'm going home. If the boss wants me, he can call me there," she informed Claire who simply nodded in response, as if she'd been expecting this to happen once Alyx awoke. Then she looked at Darien. "Thanks. See you tomorrow?"

"Sure. Tomorrow," Darien echoed, watching her leave.

Once Alyx had turned the corner, Claire hit Darien lightly on the arm. "If you don't go after her, I'll have to hurt you."

Darien didn't move, though he stared after Alyx as well. "No. I'm done going after her. All I've been doing is chasing her away. She has to make her own decision." He gave Claire a smile and then left to find his partner Hobbes. It was time to see what the Fat Man had for them today.


	6. Epilogue

Epilogue

_Two weeks later. Room 202. Office of Charles Borden, the Official of the Agency._

_Currently he's not a very happy man._

_^*^*^*^_

Eberts waited until the phone was slammed down before asking. "Which one?"

"Her." The Official was barely containing his anger. It wasn't Eberts' fault, after all. "Apparently she has impressed certain people with influence at the CIA. The President has ordered us to 'share our good fortune,' by giving her up indefinitely."

"There are good points to this," Eberts observed, getting the short copy of her file out of the box. "We'll no longer have to worry about her influence on Darien."

"True. And we will no longer have to worry about how to control her. Let them try to figure it out." The Official laughed a bit at that thought. "She has definitely been a challenge to control."

"Yes, sir. When do we tell her?" Eberts asked, setting the file on the Official's desk.

"Tomorrow evening. I have something they can do during the day, and then she'll be gone by the following morning." The Official opened the file. "Besides, it's not like she's the only one with her range of skills."

"True, sir. Quite true," Eberts agreed.

^*^*^*^

_This guy, who did art work with Campbell's Soup cans, once said, "They always say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself."_

_I remembered what I had promised myself I would do and I remembered what she had said. I also remembered that it was with me that she had fallen asleep this time._

_Maybe that change I had been hoping for, waiting for had finally come._

Finis


End file.
